the expungement of juvenile records once the juvenile reaches a certain age. In some cases, the records are destroyed; sometimes they simply are "sealed." The purpose of these laws is to allow a minor who was accused of criminal acts, or in the language of many juvenile courts, "delinquent acts," to erase his record, typically at the age of 17 or 18. The idea is to allow the juvenile offender to enter adulthood with a "clean slate," shielding him or her from the negative effects of having a criminal record. States have taken significantly different approaches when it comes to expungement for controlled substance violations such as marijuana and hashish. Typically, only convictions of possession or possession with the intent to distribute are eligible for expungement. Factors such as the weight/amount of the particular substance, age of the offender, and the number of offenses may impact eligibility for expungement as well. For example, in New Jersey, the threshold is 25 grams for marijuana and 5 grams for hashish if the offense occurred when the offender was 21 years of age or younger. Procedures for obtaining an expungement are different in each state, but tend to follow a similar process: The petitioner verifies his or her eligibility for expungement under state law; The petitioner prepares a petition for expungement, often using a standard petition form; The petitioner files the petition with the court where the conviction occurred, and serves copies of the petition on other interested parties such as the prosecutor's office; The court holds a hearing on the petition to verify that the petitioner is eligible for expungement and that the grant of expungement is proper; The court issues an order either granting or denying the petition. Federal expungement There is no post-conviction relief available in the federal system, other than a presidential pardon. Congressman Charles B. Rangel proposed the Second Chance Act in 2007, 2009, and 2011, which was intended to "[amend] the federal criminal code to allow an individual to file a petition for expungement of a record of conviction for a nonviolent criminal offense". Benefits of expungement In some jurisdictions, all records on file within any court, detention or correctional facility, law enforcement or criminal justice agency concerning a person's detection, apprehension, arrest, detention, trial or disposition of an offense within the criminal justice system can be expunged. Each state sets its own guidelines for what records